Communities of transformation (COT) is a faith-based initiative that is sponsored by a non-profit organization, the alabama-west florida conference of the united methodist church (AWFUMC)

The mission of COT is to break the generational cycle of poverty, which is done through the building of intentional, long-term friendships that provide support for families who want to build a stable financial future. COT is a community-wide, interdenominational effort designed to change the conversation about issues of poverty, to seek to break the generational grip of poverty, and to find ways to identify and remove those systemic barriers within the community. COT aligns with the programming priority of economic opportunity. We began year 4 with twelve vista members who are currently engaged in service; nine of those members coordinate the project in communities across the region and three of those members provide assistance and support to the project. They are building capacity for communities of transformation to reach nine different COT communities, as well as region wide COT efforts. Vista members are assisting in building the required infrastructure in each of the COT communities, identifying and expanding community partnerships, providing publicity and communication within the communities and throughout the region, recruiting and preparing training opportunities for the volunteers, and measuring performance outcomes. In november, we added a 13TH vista who will focus on the participants/families served by COT. This vista will work with participant trainers at each of our sites and provide structure to our programming. We recently added a vista leader position to our project and will continue that position into year 5. This vista leader will work to strengthen and build the leadership skill of current vistas, develop in-service trainings and strengthen the overall capacity of the vista project. Per conversations with our state officer, we have been authorized to request a total of 10 standard slots and 6 cost share slots plus a vista leader position for year 5 of our grant. These additional slots will be used for expansion into the northwest florida panhandle area and for planting of new sites within alabama. We understand that we have all of 2019 to recruit for and fill these slots. The beneficiaries will be families in poverty in each of the communities in alabama and the west florida panhandle, as well as those volunteers and community leaders who will gain new understanding about the lives of those who live daily in the quagmire of poverty.